1. Field of the Invention
An aspect of the present invention relates to a scanner and a control method thereof, and more particularly, to a scanner and a control method thereof scanning both sides of a document in a folded state, and scanning a single side of the document in an unfolded state.
2. Description of the Related Art
A scanner scans an image of a document by illuminating light onto a predetermined location of the document on which image information is formed. The image is then scanned by an illuminating module, and the light reflected from the document is transmitted to an image sensor by an imaging lens, thereby scanning the image information formed at the predetermined position of the document.
Recently, various portable and small scanners have been developed and released. U.S. Pat. No. 6,362,902 discloses a scanner including two scanning units rotatably connected through a hinge unit. Also, Japanese Patent First Publication No. H11-266348 (FOLDABLE HAND SCANNER) discloses a scanner including two scanning units mutually rotating around a hinge.
In U.S. Pat. No. 6,362,902, the two scanning units respectively include first and second scanning sensors, and respectively have slantingly cut shapes. Accordingly, when the two scanning units are unfolded, the first and second scanning sensors are disposed in a line thereby completely scanning a document without a pixel blank. However, when the two scanning units are folded, the length and the depth of focus of the first and second scanning sensors become different, and it is difficult to scan both sides of the document. Accordingly, U.S. Pat. No. 6,362,902, discloses separate scanner embodiments for enabling a double side scanning when folded, and enabling a single side scanning when unfolded Also, productivity is deteriorated because the first and second scanning units are asymmetric, and the slantingly cut surface causes inconvenience to a user carrying the scanner.
Also, the scanner disclosed in Japanese Patent First Publication No. H11-266348 is folded just for carrying, and the double side scanning is impossible when folded.